An Unlikely Pairing
by doctortennantsbum
Summary: The tale of how Oswin Oswald met Nina, the first girl she ever fancied
1. Chapter 1

Oswin lived in a small and secluded neighborhood a few tube stops from everywhere she had ever needed to go. Which was convenient because her dad was always working and her mother had cancer. Shortly after getting to places became an issue for Oswin, her mother passed away and now Oswin relied more and more on the public transportation. She was sad that her mother died and seldom left her house for a year and a half afterwards. But Oswin still had to go to school. So she used the Underground and the buses.

Her father gave her the money she needed to get place to place but he would get mad at Oswin if she went in a cab. "They can be dangerous," he always claimed. "Just a few years back, one cabbie turned out to be a serial killer!" Oswin was skeptical of her fathers assertions, but she hated to anger him, so she stayed away from the cabs.

On her first day of secondary school, Oswin had on an old pair of jeans and a soft sweater that used to belong to her mother. The material was soft and smelled like vanilla. Waiting for her bus to pull up, Oswin pulled out her cell phone to tell her father she was at the stop. She had walked only a few feet from the door of their flat, but he liked to know where she was at all times. Oswin tried her best to do whatever she could to make her father's life less difficult. As she was slipping her phone back into her backpack, Oswin noticed someone else walk up next to her. Peering out of her peripheral vision and shielded by sheet of straight brown hair, Oswin studied the newcomer. She was tall and slim and looked to be about the same age as Oswin.

The girl looked over towards Oswin just she averted her glance. Muttering a quick "sorry," for staring, Oswin turned away to leave. Perhaps today would be a good day to ride the bus.

"It's no worries," reassured the girl in a thick Scottish accent. "I'm Nina. Today's my first day of Secondary School." Nina stuck out her hand assertively. Oswin reluctantly accepted it.

"Oswin. My first day too." she shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants. "You taking this bus?"

Nina nodded. "I just moved here from Glasgow. My mum got a new job and we all got dragged along. What about you? Where does your mom work?"

"My mom's dead," Oswin said. She had learned it brought on the least amount of sympathy if you told people before they got to know you. "Cancer. Five years ago."

Nina nodded solemnly. "My dad passed when I was three. Car crash. I don't remember him that well."

"I'm sorry," replied Oswin

"Likewise," countered Nina.

The two gazed off in silence. The bus pulled up and opened it's doors. No one came off but Nina and Oswin had to wait in a line of people to get on. A tall man carrying a thick briefcase knocked past Oswin on his way to his seat which caused Oswin to lose her balance. As she was bracing for her fall, she felt a delicate hand wrap around her midsection and steady her body. When Oswin was up straight once again, she turned and looked into Nina's eyes.

"Thank you," Oswin said, her breath catching a bit in her throat. Her pulse was pounding in her ears. Nina's face was just a few inches from her own.

"Of course. Let's just try and get to school unharmed shall we?" Nina replied with a giggle like tinkling bells. She smiled warmly at Oswin. Oswin countered with a shy grin of her own and pushed her hair behind her ear.

The pair of them found two adjacent seats near the back of the bottom of the bus and sat down. Oswin pulled out her phone to tell her father she was on her way. He replied quickly with good luck wishes. She smiled and slipped her phone back away. Nina had been waiting patiently for Oswin to be finished but as soon as she was, Oswin was bombarded with questions.

"So, have you lived here all your life? Have you ever been to Scotland? What's your favorite book? What do you want to be when you grow up?" Oswin answered the questions as they came along, mostly with slight head nods or single word responses. The questions kept flowing. By the time the bus pulled up to their school, Oswin felt Nina knew more about her life than anyone else save her father.

Oswin stood up to leave the bus with Nina following behind her. As soon as they hit the pavement, the bus sped away leaving the two girls in its dust. Oswin turned to head into the school but Nina called after her. "Wait! Will I see you again today?" she asked, striding toward Oswin confidently.

In a shaky voice, Oswin called back, "I don't think so. My father picks me up from school usually. But perhaps tomorrow on the bus again,"

Nina smiled a crooked smile that lit up her eyes. "I would love that," she said as she caught up to Oswin. Matching each others strides, the two entered the school building together and went to their separate classrooms.


	2. Chapter 2

By the end of the day, Oswin was already done with school for the year. When the bell for her final class rang, Oswin shoved her books into her shoulder bag and rushed out the door. Arriving at her locker, she was shocked to see someone standing in front of it. As she got closer, she recognized the locker blocker to be none other than the mysteriously intriguing girl she'd met earlier on the bus, Nina.

"I asked around, someone seemed to think this was where I would find you," Nina explained sheepishly. She offered Oswin a small stick of gum as she slid over to allow access to the cubby.

Realising she'd been staring, Oswin averted her gaze and accepted the gum. As she spun the lock on the door, Oswin heard Nina beside her shifting her weight from foot to foot in uncomfortable silence. "Thanks," Oswin muttered. "Er, for the gum. So you're taking the bus home? My dad can't pick me up today." Feeling a blush rising to her pale cheeks, Oswin attempted to bury her head in the locker, waiting for the dangerous feeling to pass.

Nina nodded. "Yup. And I know we only met today, but I was thinking maybe you could come to my house? Meet my mum?"

"Erm," Oswin was speechless. She didn't have friends, let alone friends who invited them over to their houses. The only escape from this situation that she could see was to lie. "Well actually my dad doesn't like me going out on weekdays. He says it's family time. You know. For the two of us."

Nina nodded, looking a little hurt. Clearly she could see through Oswin's lie. Silently cursing her fair skin for revealing her true feelings, Oswin wondered if Nina ever blushed or if it was just masked by her olive complexion.

With a twinge of remorse pulling at her heart, Oswin conceded. "But perhaps I could talk to him; I haven't any homework that needs to be done," Nina's face lit up instantly.

"Lovely! Oh you'll love my family! My mum is the best. And my little brother, Alfie, he's a bit loud and restless most of the time, but he's sweet if you give him a chance." Oswin listened to Nina prattle on about her family until the bus arrived. All this talk made her feel as if she'd missed a large part of life by having only her father.

As the two took their seats on the top level of the bus and Oswin texted her father, Nina dove back into the vicious questioning. "So, tell me about your father. What's he like?"

Oswin smiled. She loved talking about her dad. He was her favourite subject in the world. "He's tall. Over six foot. He plays guitar very well, but he hasn't so much since my mother died. His name is Brian and he's my favourite person in the world." Nina was staring at Oswins face with a kind of inexplicable passion. Feeling her cheeks start to burn again, Oswin turned her head and let her hair fall down in a protective shield.

Nina smiled at her new friend. "You two sound very close. My mum sort of shut people out after my dad died. We only started reconciling a few years ago," Oswin nodded somberly. She understood where Nina was coming from.

"My dad and I both sort of shut out everyone together. Neither of us left the house much. He still stays at home most of the time. He works out of a recording studio in our flat."

"That is so cool! My mum is a nurse at the hospital. I think it's because she feels she can keep fewer people from dying from car crashes if she's there to fix all of them." Nina's voice cracked.

Hesitatingly, Oswin reached out to stroke Nina's shoulder. Nina smiled at Oswin in return. "Let's change the subject," she said, all sadness wiped from her face suddenly with a bright grin.

The girls talked about their least favourite classes at school until the bus pulled up to their neighbourhood. Oswin got off the bus first, but realizing she didn't know precisely where Nina lived, stood by the door and waited for Nina, a few people behind her. As Nina walked off, she tossed her hair behind her shoulders and adjusted her backpack on her shoulders. Oswin followed Nina past rows of identical buildings and to the last one on the corner.

Nina sucked in her chest. "Well," she said, matter of factly. "This is home!" She walked onto the porch and pulled a key out of her pocket. After a bit of wiggling and door-kicking, she managed to push it open. Oswin followed Nina into the entryway of the house and gasped at what she saw.

"Bloody hell! This is absolutely gorgeous!" Oswin's eyes kept darting between the amazingly plush carpets, the beautifully ornate, high ceilings, and the impeccable collection of oil paintings hanging on the walls.

Nina looked down sheepishly. "Yeah," she said. "My dad loved art. We had even more back in Scotland. And we had to get rid of a lot of it after Alfie was born. He liked to throw his food." Oswin giggled into her hand. "And mum always says it's most important to make a good first impression." She kicked off her shoes and walked into the hallway. Following suit, Oswin dropped her backpack by the door, removed her shoes, and shuffled to catch up to Nina.

By the time they reached the kitchen, Oswin was beside herself. Never in her life had she seen such a lavishly decorated flat. The walls were filled floor to ceiling with ornate works of art and topped off by beautiful vaulted ceilings.

"But you just moved here!" Oswin sputtered. "How did you have all the time to fix it up like this?" She forced her gaping jaw shut.

"My uncle came up for a month and helped us set everything up. And the previous owners had already made it pretty gorgeous, we just added our own works of art." Nina opened a cupboard over a sink deeper that Oswin's bathtub and excavated a jar of Nutella. Opening a drawer and grabbing two spoons, she walked past Oswin and pulled out a chair at the table. Oswin did the same.

"I hate to be rude," Oswin didn't really know how to ask this, but the question was plaguing her mind. "but how much money does your mum actually make? I wouldn't think nurses earned this much."

Nina opened the jar and stuck in one spoon, handing the other to Oswin. "They don't. It's family money-in a sense. The man who killed my dad had a huge fortune in oil or something and he pays us consolation every month. He's in jail now, but his mostly-plastic wife deals with the transactions." She ate a spoonful of Nutella and offered the jar to Oswin. The two ate in silence for a few minutes before Oswin signaled that she was done.

Replacing the jar in the cupboard, Nina thought about her similarities to Oswin. They were, of course, the same age, living in the same neighborhood, and had only one parent. But other than that, there weren't many similarities. Nina was dark skinned to combat Oswin's paleness. Oswin was more shy and reserved whereas Nina was loud and outspoken. But perhaps that was what had brought them together in the first place. Their initial on-the-surface similarities had led them to one another, but the intrigue in each others' differences was the glue holding them together.  
The door to Nina's bedroom was already plastered with pictures of actors and a plaque reading "Nina's Headquarters." The door was cracked open, but it was hard to push it open far enough to get inside. The floor was littered with clothing and books.

"Don't worry. It's all clean," Nina assured. "I had some hard time deciding what to wear today. She laughed it off and went to sit on her bed, a nice twin bed with a fluffy purple duvet and covered in wrinkled blouses. Oswin hovered at the door a few moments before joining Nina on her bed.

"So, I've never really done this before…" Oswin began carefully. "What do we do?" She looked down at her hands and started picking the dirt out from underneath her fingernails.

"Well, I guess we talk," Nina began. "about life, school, about boys?" She dragged out the last word, as if to say that Oswin should share every detail of her love life.

Oswin laughed uncomfortably. "I think we covered most of that on the bus ride here. Anyone of interest in your life?" She asked.

Nina picked a stuffed animal off her bed and began absentmindedly stroking it's ear. "Nah. I'm saving myself. For a boy back in Scotland. His name is Graeme. His mum and dad own an inn at the edge of my old town. They were lovely people." Nina's smile at the memory made Oswin smile.

For the next few hours, the two talked about their lives; Nina of her life in Scotland and Oswin of life a few doors away with her dad and his studio. They got so caught up in themselves they forgot about the time and Oswin nearly ended up missing dinner with her father, something that never happened. Nina's little brother Alfie had arrived shortly after they did and introduced himself to Oswin, but Oswin had to leave before she could meet Nina's mom.

Standing in the doorway about to leave, Nina caught Oswin's hand. "I had a great day today," Nina smiled warmly and Oswin reciprocated the action. "I'll see you on the bus tomorrow morning?" Oswin nodded. "Maybe tomorrow I can go to your house." She phrased it as more of a statement than a question. Like she was saying that tomorrow they would to the same thing, but at Oswin's house.

Oswin nodded and turned to leave. She couldn't be late. Her father would be angry or worse, might dip into one of his moments. A few steps out of the house, Oswin heard Nina call her name and turned around to face her.

"You're a really awesome person," Nina said. "I think-never mind." She smiled and waved goodbye. Oswin wondered what she had been about to say, but shrugged it off and waved back. She made it home just as her dad was pulling dinner out of the oven.


	3. Chapter 3

Brian retired to his room around nine. His daughter, Oswin, had been in her room reading for the past hour. Today she had started secondary school and Brian had spent the day playing with the levels on a song he was working on. He often thought about dropping music and going to get a real job, but somehow he felt that would be a betrayal to his wife, Clara. It had been five years since Clara had died and he still hadn't had the courage to clean her closet. Every day Brian missed her more and more and every day was longer than the day before.

But his music kept him through it. Clara always talked about how much she loved his music. So Brian told himself that he simply couldn't quit music because he was honouring his dead wife's memory.

As Brian brushed his teeth, he thought about his daughter. She had never really spent much time out of the house, especially not since her mum died. Oswin generally preferred to stay in her room reading or drawing. Nonetheless, Oswin had spent today with a girl he'd never met and barely made it home in time for dinner. It was an unspoken rule in their house that you were always present for dinner.

Of course Brian was happy that his daughter was making friends; he wanted nothing more in his life than for her to be happy. But somehow, the thought of losing her to her friends made him unfathomably sad. He always wanted Oswin to be right within his reach. She looked so much like her mother.

A lone tear dripped down his cheek as Brian shook himself from the memories of Clara. He couldn't go back there. He had to stay strong. For Oswin.

Oswin looked around her room. The walls were painted rose pink and the floor was sprinkled with stuffed animals. She picked up an old teddy bear sitting next to her on the bed. As she was straightening the bow around it's neck, her phone chimed with a text from Nina.

Bus stop tomorrow? I'll bring the tea ;)

~Nina

Shooting of an approbatory reply, Oswin returned to the book she was reading. It was a silly little children's novel from America. She didn't even know how it had come to be in her home in England. The cover of the book really said it all; a bodacious blonde woman wearing a fedora and a trench coat and holding a smoking gun. That woman was Melody Malone, a private detective in old New York town. The story was silly and involved time travel and heart break. It was confusing to follow sometimes and at parts even seemed like it was telling the events as they occurred in this moment.

Oswin heard her father walk upstairs. Their dinner had been relatively quiet, but that was how they both preferred it. Sometimes it was good to talk and others it was just best to bask in the silence. Meals were for silence, lazy Sunday afternoons were for pleasant conversation.

Her dad opened the door to his room and Oswin heard him sigh. She wanted to go check on him, make sure he wasn't slipping again, but her therapist had said it was sometimes good to give him space. Oswin returned to her reading and turned up the classical music playing through her computer.

By ten, Oswin had finished her book and went to ready herself for bed. Her father's door was cracked open and she could see him sitting on his bed with his back to the door. Oswin walked in carefully, doing her best not to alarm her father. She walked over to his side and sat down next to him. She could see fresh tear streaks on his chin and offered him a tissue from the nightstand.

"Are you alright Dad?" Oswin tried to keep the worry from her voice but feared she didn't do a good job.

Brian smiled somberly. "I am love." He grasped his daughters hand and stroked her thumb. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. They sat there in silence for another minute or so.

"I don't want you to worry about anything Dad," Oswin admitted. "I can make friends and still have time to spend with you."

Brian nodded slowly. "I know, Os. And I don't want you to worry about me, I can handle it." He tried hard to hold in the new bout of tears threatening to spill from his eyes. The silence continued.

Five minutes later, Oswin mentioned that she should probably be getting to bed. She did have school tomorrow morning. Kissing her father's cheek, Oswin stood and left the room. She turned off the lights as she left but hovered around the door just long enough to see her dad settle into the bed. Smiling to herself, Oswin laid down in her own bed and closed her eyes, reflecting on the days events. She had made her first friend.

The next morning, Oswin awoke to the bright light streaming through her window and pointed directly at her face. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she took a quick glance at the clock next to her bed. She jolted upright as she realized that the bus for school left in twenty minutes. Oswin yanked off the shirt she had slept in and put on a fresh bra and pair of pants. She grabbed a black skirt from her closet and a graphic t-shirt from her dresser.

Running frantically around the bathroom, Oswin heard her dad leave his bedroom, shuffling in a manner that suggested that he too had just awoken.

"Dad!" Oswin shouted, stretching out the word so it reached two syllables. "You were supposed to make sure I was awake! I have to be at the bus stop in ten minutes!" She yanked a brush through her tangled wavy brown hair.

"Sorry love, the time must've gotten away from me, I was a tad busy in my bed," He joked. Despite her stress over missing the bus, Oswin couldn't help but smile. She always smiled when her dad made a joke because it reminded her that he truly was better. More importantly, it showed Oswin that today wouldn't be as bad as last night was.

Oswin kissed her dad's cheek, who was now leaning against the door frame of the bathroom. Though she was still only eleven, Oswin was almost as tall as her dad, who stood five foot four on a good day. She pushed past him and ran down the stairs. Picking up her backpack and slipping on some thongs, Oswin ran out the door and in the direction of the bus stop.

"Love you Dad! Have a good day!" She called over her shoulder as he came down the stairs to close the door after her. Oswin saw Brian blow her a kiss and wave goodbye as the door closed behind her.

Arriving at the bus stop just a minute before the bus left, Oswin bent over to catch her breath. Nina was sitting in the first row on the bottom so Oswin had no trouble locating her. She looked nervous and kept craning her neck to see out different angles of the window. Catching eyes with Oswin, her anxiousness melted away into a warm smile.

"Oi, you look like rubbish," Nina said with a smile, holding out a tea mug for Oswin.

Oswin accepted the gift graciously. She hadn't had time to pick up some sustenance on her dash out the door. "I know. I woke up about twenty minutes ago. My morning's been a bit rushed so far." Taking a sip of the warm liquid, Oswin's head filled with memories of her childhood. This had been her mother's favourite tea. She forced the overwhelmingly sad nostalgia that was threatening to spill over into the back of her mind.

The bus started rolling and Oswin and Nina sipped their teas in silence. At the first stop, only a handful of people got off, but it gave the illusion of making the bus seem much emptier. As Oswin finished off her tea, she looked over at Nina. Nina looked very composed, nothing like the thirty-second outfit she herself had thrown on-certainly nothing like the floor of her bedroom would suggest. Her posture was erect, even sitting in a crappy bus seat. The biggest interest was Nina's hair. It was curly and luscious and beautiful in every way. Each single piece seemed to have it's own unique curl, which gave her hair in its whole an element of surprise. You never knew what each piece would do. Oswin suspected that Nina hated her own hair for just that reason, but Oswin thought it was the most magical thing in the world.

As they reached the school, Nina was finishing her tea. She noticed that Oswin had finished hers a few stops back and had been staring at her for the past few minutes. Nina wondered what Oswin thought of her. Did she think she was pretty? That she was nice? That she was too much of a slob to be friends with? The questions plagued her mind as she waved goodbye to Oswin and they set off in opposite directions to their classes.

Nina arrived at her class minutes before the bell rang and sat down in her seat. As she kept trying to make it past the first page of the chapter, her mind kept wandering to Oswin. To the way the sun glinted off her chocolate brown hair. How she was short yet leggy at the same time. How her face lit up so much when she talked about her dad. As the bell rang, Nina gave up any hope at getting her reading done.


End file.
